The 16th hearing of the case, in which 33 people lost their lives in an Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) suicide attack on 20 July 2015, was held at the Urfa Courthouse 5th Criminal Court. The decision has been made not to prosecute Abdullah Ömer Aslan, one of the key figures in the Suruç suicide attack case.
Urfa and İzmir Bar Associations, Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Ömer Öcalan, and victims’ lawyers Sezin Uçar and Serdil İzol, attended the hearing. During the hearing, it was noted that the court board had changed.
Yakup Şahin, the only defendant in the case file, attended the hearing through the Audio and Video Information System (SEGBİS) from the Urfa T-type Closed Prison.
At the hearing, it was learned that the investigation carried out against İmam Abdullah Ömer Aslan, one of the key figures in the case, ended with a decision not to prosectute, on the grounds that the HTS records showed no connection with the incident and no phone calls with ISIS members.
The victims’ lawyer Serdil İzol said, ”Even the testimony of the person has not been used. We do not accept the decision of non-prosecution without even taking the statement of a person who has been complained about”.
Lawyer Sezin Uçar said that the only material fact in this five-year-long case is that the imam Abdullah Ömer Aslan was heard and the court filed a criminal complaint. Uçar asked the court to reverse the decision of non-prosecution.
The victims’ lawyers demanded that the statements made by the former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu were included in the hearing, but the court refused.
The next hearing will be held on 9 February 2021.